The Monster Ball

Larmer Tree has its peacocks, Træna has its whales and Burning Man has…well, the clue's in the title, but Scotland's Rockness is the only festival on the planet with its very own mythical creature.

Nestled happily on Clune Farm on the banks of Loch Ness, the festival is but a hop, skip and a monster ride away for Friday headliners Two Door Cinema Club, who moved to Glasgow earlier this year following the head-spinning success of their debut album Tourist History.
"We've only played in Scotland a handful of times," guitarist Sam Halliday says, "which is really weird. Mostly we've been in Glasgow. The only other place we've played was Edinburgh and that was like two years ago in a 150 capacity pub! Rockness is just a few hours away, so I think it will be a lot of people's first time seeing us. Hopefully there'll be a lot of fans out there, so we're really excited about it."

"We're doing more festivals this Summer than we did last Summer," Kevin Baird adds, "It's tough to say no, because we're starting to feel really comfortable out there."
Do the hit-making rockers reckon they'll get some time to stop and smell the haggis?

"We always try and stick around for a little bit," Halliday says, "because we're always traveling and it's nice to experience a bit of it. Sometimes we're so busy, we've got three festivals in a weekend so it's just a matter of playing a show and getting out of there. But we'll definitely stick around and see a couple of people, or else hang out backstage if it's nice and sunny and have a few beers with us and the crew. It's a good time as well to hang out with other bands. You find you see the same bands on the same stages the rest of the Summer."

Keeping the boys from Bangor company in Iverness will be Kasabian, The Chemical Brothers, Paolo Nutini, Groove Armada, The Cribs, Boyz Noize, Example, The Wombats, Glasvegas, We Are Scientists, Beardyman, Jamie xx, Erol Alkan and more.

Dublin synth rock trio Funeral Suits are the sole representatives of the Republic, and they've already been tweeting their excitement at making their Rockness debut on the Goldenvoice stage on the Saturday.

Now in its sixth year, the three-dayer has already built up a reputation as a festival with real character. With countless playful nods to Scottish culture, local pride is alive and well, and as for scenery, you just can't beat those idyllic Highland views. Whoever's rocking the Loch, Rockness always seems to elicit the fondest memories for its quirky accents and blissed-out vibe. Last year, members of Hot Chip even halted their DJ set so a lovesick merrymaker could propose to his missus. Just that kind of festival, I guess.